Pipe insulation products currently commercially available provide good insulation for pipes and other thermal equipment once installed, but difficulties are encountered in shipping, handling and using such products in the field. Fishmouthing, which is a condition in which the protective wrap separates from the blanket of insulating material, usually fiberglass, due to normal shipping and handling stresses, is a recurrent problem. Installers have also complained that the protective wrap tends to separate from the insulation blanket in the field, particularly in locations where installation conditions are difficult and/or when high winds are encountered. These difficulties stem from the tendency of the protective wrap to separate from the blanket. And of course there is the frequent problem of having to tape the ends of the protective wrap at the meeting edges of the blanket and its associated protective wrap.
Accordingly it is the object of this invention to overcome the problems described above.